Skip to main content

Volkswagen offers new details about its adorable ID Buzz electric microbus

Volkswagen offers new details about its adorable ID Buzz electric microbus

/

A passenger version will be released in the US in 2023

Share this story

Volkswagen clarified some new details about the release of the ID Buzz, the electric microbus that we first saw in concept form way back in 2017.

In an interview with Car and Driver, VW’s head of commercial vehicles, Carsten Intra, confirmed previous reports that the ID Buzz’s release in the US was delayed from 2022 to 2023. In addition, only the passenger version of the ID Buzz was getting a US-release, while Europe would be seeing both a commercial and passenger version of the van.

The commercial version will be VW’s first autonomous vehicle

The entry-level version of the ID Buzz will likely have rear-wheel drive and 200 horsepower, while a more powerful trim level would get all-wheel drive and around 300 horsepower, Car and Driver reports.

In Europe, the commercial version of the ID Buzz — first introduced as the Buzz Cargo — would have sensors and software that would enable autonomous capabilities. But a self-driving version of the Buzz won’t be available until after the regular version is released. The VW Group, which also owns Audi, Skoda, and Porsche, expects it to be its first autonomous vehicle ever released.

The ID Buzz is meant to be a clear homage to the iconic vehicle that the company sold in North America between 1950 and 1980. The production versions are expected to deviate little from the blunt-faced original. (All of the batteries will be mounted under the floor.)

When it’s released, the ID Buzz will join the ID 3 hatchback, the ID 4 compact SUV, and soon-to-be-released ID 5 coupe, as the newest member of VW’s fast-growing lineup of electric vehicles. China will also be getting an elongated ID 6 at some point in the future. VW’s ID electric lineup also includes concept versions of a large SUV (ID Roomzz) and a dune buggy (ID Buggy). All are being built on Volkswagen’s modular electric vehicle platform known as MEB.